AS we prepare for the FA Cup on Saturday, we have a chance to reflect on what has been a good start in the league and there are lots of positives to take.

The team went unbeaten in seven of those eight games in Blue Square Bet North and our home form has been quite convincing, we have looked a good side at St George’s Lane.

We were disappointed in the 2-2 draw at Oxford City last month but if you look at the league table, they have also started well so that could turn out to be a good point.

It was also disappointing to lose our unbeaten record at Gainsborough Trinity but we stressed to the players how important it was to react quickly to that and get back to winning ways.

I thought we beat a good Droylsden side last Saturday.

They haven’t had a great start to the season but we have found it tough against them in the past and not had a decent return so that was really pleasing.

City have taken 15 points from those eight games but it’s no good thinking any further than your next match.

We always watch our next opponents play so we know exactly what they are going to do and we make sure that both individually and collectively players know what they are going to be up against and what we expect from them.

Once a game is out of the way, we start working on the next one in training.

Of course, there are times when you have to look at groups of games, because it gives you a fair reflection of progress, but otherwise we just focus on one and try to pick up points.

We will always go out to win a game even though there might be times when it looks like we have settled for draws.

Take the Gainsborough match for example; it would be easy to say we went there for a draw but that wasn’t the case, it was just how the game mapped out and things didn’t go for us.

We changed things around for the Droylsden match with a specific game-plan and the selection was based on that, with energy on the bench in the form of Charlie Reece and Matt Breeze.

The players implemented it and it was a good team performance.

Danny Glover and Michael Taylor played despite spending most of the week ill in bed.

They both felt OK to play although they weren’t 100 per cent fit.

Saturday sees us take a break from the league as we face Gornal Athletic in the FA Cup second qualifying round.

There is always a buzz when it comes to the cup and I think that stems from the prestige of the competition and its history.

I used to get up early on final day and follow the build-up on TV.

It’s unique how teams raise their game for the cup and it will be no different at Gornal.

Status means nothing because on Saturday we will be equals.

There are no points at stake, it’s a one-off match and we will approach it as if we were playing them in the league.